Wrench



'May 3,1927.

J. ZILLIOX WRENCH Filed Aug. 26, 1924 lPatented May 3, 1927.

Unirse STATE-s JOHN ZILLIOX, OBCHA'BI) 'PABX-,NEW YORK.

. WRENCH.

Application filed August 26, 1924. Serial No. 734,310.

This invention relates to'l a wrench ofthe type which is more generally known as a machine wrench, and which is adapted to grasp' oremlorace the heads andi nuts ol 15i bolts: or similar objects with the purpose oi turning the same' or holding the same against t'urningin theusual or wellknown manner; Y v It is the object ofi; this? invention to provide a wrench of t-his A character having a head whichis removable fromv the handle har so' as to permit heads ,havingI diii'erent- V,sizesV of soclrets or jaws to be applied tothe Isame' handle bar, more particularly to a locking device whereby' such heads ofy the handle har arecoupl'ed or held`y togetherso that theycannot become accidently separated wlii-lf'e the wrenchl is heing'used. v the accompanying drawings L l Fig. 1 a side' elevation of a wrench emliodying my improvements, Y

Fig'. 2 is a similar' view of part of the handle bar and the wrench loroken away',

"Figs, 3 and /l are side: elevations of the head and handle loarofthe wrench detached from each other,

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectiony taken on line 5-5 of Figure 3, and I i y Figs 6 and 7 are edgeview'sof the head and handle har of the wrench detached from eachother. l f

Similar 4characters of reference indicate like parts in theA` several figures'.

t The numeral 10 represents the head of the :i5 wrench and 11 tliehandle har of the same which is detach ahl'y connected with the head 'for the purpose of' permitting heads having diierent sizes of sockets or differently spaced jaws'to` he mounted on the handle. all) ings is vconstructed ot a substantially flat piece oi metal and is provided at its front end with two jaws 12, 13', which are arranged at an angle relative to thelength of the head so that' the soclretor'recess 14 he'tweenthese jaws canhe applied either in yone position or in a reverse position to the object'- which is to he engaged by the wrench head, such for instance, as the head and nut A'oli a` hol't anl tlins enaloleI the latter to loc held or tinned hestlsuits the particular circumstances or conditions under which the v lwrenchv is being: used. y A

On opposite sidesot its `rear end the wrench head is provided with two side re cessesl which extend forwardly from the This head in' theliorm shown in the drawrear endl of the headv and each of which is provided with upper and lower longitudinal walls 16 and 16 which are parallel and a rounded fronti wall 17` which forms/the inner end or this recess. 15 is arrangeda narrow web or rib 18 which extendsto the rear end of the wrench. head.

Or its Yliront endV the handle baris proy videdwith' a verticalslot @extending rearwardly from the front end of' the same and,

transversely -romxone side edge tothe other so as to form two arms 23, 23 on opposite sides of thisslot. These arms are adapted to straddle` the web 18 and to enter the recesses 15, 15,'k on opposite sides or thesame. The longitudinalledges 24, 24 of each of the arms 23' are parallel and the distance hevtween the. same isequalto the distance between the` parallel longitudinal sides 16,116 of the respective recesses on the head, and,

the front end 25' yof each arm corresponds 1n curvature to the curvature ofl the inner end 17' ofy the respective recess oli the head soy that vwhenk these parts engage with each other they form a snug fit', as shown in Fig-` ure 1, wherebyl the head and handle bar are caused to turn in; unison when using the wrench and` avoid any looseness or rattling betweenthese parts which otherwise would occur if there was any slack in the joint between the. same. A wrench oft this char` acter is shown in my cti-pending application for patent Serial" Number 523,982, tiled December 21, 1921, and patented on Apr. 28, 1925, NumloerV 1,535,281.

lt has been" the head and the handle' har are only connected by a rictional contact with each vother that the handle, in some instances,A is liable to become detached from the head,

especially when the jaws `or' the head engage with unnsnally tight lit upon the object which is heing engaged and also when reaching into places which are diilicult of access and when lowering the wrench head `lov means of the handlehar into a position where the head is liable to drop. ofi from the handle bar hy gravity if the -lirietional engagement betweenthe same is not very goed. j

The present invention is, therefore, intended to permit of positively locking the head and handle har together, but permitting the same to he separated at will when this is desired, and thereby positively preventing separation ot the head and handle bar under Between the recesses 15,`

found in practice that when all circumstances and wholly regardless of whether the frictional lit between these parts is suiiicient to maintain them in operative relation. In the preferred :li'orm oit this lockii'ig` device, as shown in the drawings, the same is constructed as follows;

These locking means on the web in the present instance, consist of a notch 19 cX- tending` forwardly from the rear edge of the web and provided on .its upper and lower sides with undercnts 20 forming Forwardly facing shoulders 21 on opposite sides of this notch.n rlhe shoulders are preferably inclined so that these two shoulders converge forwardly and in effect form two hooks.

Mounted on the handle bar within the rear end of the slot 22 is a latch which in its preferred form consists of a forwardly projecting hook 26, a linger piece 27 projecling hook and extending beyond one edge oit the handle bar, and a retaining or stop linger or guide lug 28 projecting laterally from the opposite side of the rear end of the hook but terminating within the border line of the handle bar, thereby forming` in effect a substantial T-shaped catch or latch. This latch is pivotally mounted on the handle bar b y means of a pivot pin 29 passing transversely through the arms of t-he handle bar and through the latch at the junction between this hook, linger piece and retaining finger. This latch is yieldingly held in a position in which the beak 32 of its hook is maintained in line with one or the other of thc shoulders 21, 21 of the wrench head, this being preferably accomplished by means of a. wire spring having a shank 30 interposed between the rear side of the latch and the bottom et' the slot 22 and having a pin 31 at one end which engages with a corresponding opening in the linger piece 27 while its opposite end engages with the rear end ot the slot 22 at a point relatively to the pivot pin 2O which is opposite to the linger piece 27.

lYhen pushing the jaws of the handle bar into the recesses of the wrench head the beak ol the latch hook springs over one ot the shoulders 21 of the wrench head and interlocks therewith so as to prevent separation ol the head and the handle bar by lengthwise movement oft these parts away from each other. Wlhen it is desired to separate these parts the latch may be moved into its unlocked position by prc-essing` forwardly on the linger piece 2'?, thereby disengaging the beak 32 ot the hook from the respective shoulder on the wrench head and permitting withdrawal ot the handle bar and wrench head from each other. Upon now reversing the wrench head and handle bar one relatively to the other the hook 26 of the latch inay be engaged with the other shoulder 21 laterally from the rear end of the` oi. the wrench head upon re-assembling the head and the handle bar, whereby the same are inlierlocked in substantially the same manner in which this occurred in the pre vious instance. By this means thc head may be attached to the handle bar with its sockel; l/l inclined either in one direction or thc other, relatively to the longitudinal axis ol. the wrenrh and thus permits ot using the wrench in the manner most convenient tor turning or holding any particular object. The inner side of the beak o2 of the locking hook 26 is inclined like the inclination of the shoulders 21, 21 so that a longitudinal pull of the head and handle bar relatively to each other, will not permit of uncoupling the same, but instead, will cause the locking device to grip more firmly.

It desired, the socket 14 of the wrench head may be formed centrally and symmetrically thereon in the manner in which some machine wrenches are now made. Also, if desired, the notch 19 may be provided with a shoulder 21 on only one of its sides. For convenience, however, of re-assembling the wrench head and handle bar and interlocking the same in reverse positions it is desirable to provide the notch 19 with locking shoulders 21 on both of its sides, inasmuch as this will avoid the necessity of exercising any particular care when slipping the handle on to the head because in either case the latch will interlock properly with the web and the wrench head.

The retaining finger or guide lug 28 on the latch provides a wide bearing surface for the latch on the handle bar which operates to prevent the latch from tilting and binding on the pivot pin 29 and also ensures greater durability of these parts and it also forms a stop by engaging the spring 30 for limiting the releasing movement of the catch.

This means of locking the head on thc Ahandle bar is very simple in construction and can be produced at low cost. The same is installed in such a manner that the same does not weaken the wrench or render the same liable to Iget out of order, and it can be very easily manipulated by the thumb ot' the hand while the wrench is in use, thereby enabling` objects to be held or turned conveniently and with facility.

l claim as my invention A wrench comprising a head provided on its front end with a socket adapted to receive the article to be. engaged and provided on opposite sides of its rear end with recesses which are separated by an intervening' web, a handle bar provided with a longitudinal slot extending from its front end rearwardly and forming two arms, said slot being adapted to receive said web and said recesses being adapted to receive said arms, the rear end of said web being prolim t opposite vided with a notch which is undercut on its sides forming two forwardly faeing shoulders, a T-shaped latch arranged Within said slot and pivoted tov said handle and having a hook projecting longitudinally forward from said pivot and adapted to engage with either ol said shoulders and a cross-bar having its ends projecting laterally in opposite directions from said pivot,

10 one end of said Cross-bar forming a Iingerpiece and having a slit in its rear side, and the other end of said cross-bar forming a stop which is adapted to engage With the rear end of the slot in said handle bar, and an L-shaped spring arranged between the rear side of said catch and the handle bar and having one end engaging said slit and the other end engaging the back of the slot in the handle liar.` t

f JOHN ZILLIOX. 

